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Thousands Feared D+ad As Devastating Earthquake Strikes Thailand And Myanmar

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News_Naija

Regional And Ethnic Bias In The Sudanese War

Since the outbreak of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch, have raised serious concerns about regional and ethnic bias within the Sudanese military. In its March 2025 report, Human Rights Watch stated: “The army treats civilians from western Sudan as collaborators with the RSF, leading to ethnic cleansing campaigns.” Reports indicate that the Sudanese army, under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, exhibits entrenched regional and ethnic biases, particularly in its treatment of civilians from Western Sudanese regions, such as Darfur and South Kordofan. According to Human Rights Watch, the army’s perception of tribal and regional loyalty leads it to treat civilians from these areas as RSF supporters, justifying excessive use of force against them. In January 2025, military attacks on the village of Tayba in Al-Jazira State resulted in the deaths of 17 civilians, including women and children. Survivor Majid Montaser (25) recounted on January 15, 2025: “I saw soldiers enter our home and shoot my father and brother without saying a word. They killed people in cold blood, as if we were enemies, just because we are from Darfur.” A local observer, speaking anonymously for security reasons, told Human Rights Watch in March 2025: “The army targets anyone who appears to be from western Sudan; this is ethnic cleansing.” A February 2025 Global Crisis Centre report noted that those practices reflected a long history of ethnic discrimination within Sudanese state institutions, particularly the military, where non-Arab groups, such as the Masalit and Fur, are viewed as existential threats, prompting systemic repression. Militias aligned with the Sudanese military, including the Sudanese Shield Forces led by Abu Aqla Kikal and the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Battalion affiliated with the Islamic Movement, have intensified these violations. According to Human Rights Watch’s March 2025 report, these militias have carried out mass killings and forced displacements in areas such as Kanabi and Wad Madani, employing brutal tactics like beheadings and mutilations. A video published by international media on January 18, 2025, showed fighters from Al-Baraa Bin Malik Battalion tying a rope around a man’s mouth, pushing him off the Hantoub Bridge, and shooting him—illustrating extreme violence in violation of international law. Another survivor, Sami Othman (32) from Wad Madani, told Reuters on January 20, 2025: “The militias allied with the army did not differentiate between men, women, or children. They assumed we were all from Darfur and targeted us for killing and displacement.” A United Nations Security Council report in March 2025 emphasised that those militias operated under the army’s command, expanding responsibility for those violations to the military leadership. While the RSF has also faced accusations of human rights abuses, analysts suggest it lacks the overt regional and ethnic bias that characterises the Sudanese army. Researcher Leila Ahmed of the Global Crisis Centre argues that the RSF operates with a more regionally diverse recruitment structure, drawing members from various tribes and areas, including Darfur. A February 2025 United Nations report noted that in certain RSF-controlled areas, such as parts of South Darfur, humanitarian access had improved due to coordination with local civilian authorities. Survivor Fatima Ibrahim (28) from South Darfur told The Guardian on March 10, 2025: “In RSF-controlled areas, we could communicate our needs, unlike in army-controlled areas, where we were treated as enemies because of our origins.” Despite criticism, this suggests a greater degree of regional inclusivity compared to the army. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan remarked in a Guardian interview on January 25, 2024: “The ethnic and regional dimension is not as pronounced in RSF operations as it is in the Sudanese army’s actions.” This highlights the contrasting approaches between the two factions, with the RSF appearing to avoid ethnic discrimination as a core strategy, despite its own record of violations. In January 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accusing the military of “deadly attacks on civilians,” including ethnic cleansing. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters on January 17, 2025: “These measures reaffirm our commitment to ending this conflict. The United States will continue holding these leaders accountable for their disregard for civilian lives.” Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch stressed in its report the need to investigate the role of militias allied with the army, stating: “The ethnic bias within the military institutionalises violence against civilians, making peace impossible without comprehensive accountability.” Some experts, such as Professor Mohammed Ali of the University of Khartoum, suggested in a March 2025 BBC interview that despite its violations, the RSF might be more adaptable in dealing with regional diversity, potentially making it a partner in future peace efforts if guided effectively. The documented abuses by the Sudanese military and its allied militias reveal deep-seated regional and ethnic biases, fuelling ethnic cleansing campaigns against civilians, particularly from western Sudan. In contrast, the RSF appears to lack this explicit bias, raising questions about its potential role in an inclusive peace process. However, ending this conflict requires international intervention to ensure accountability for all parties and to protect civilians while recognising the complex challenges posed by each faction.

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News_Naija

Dangotes Return To Gateway State

PHENOMENAL things happened in Ogun State last week. Fresh from inspecting 11 road projects targeted at opening up Ogun East for business last weekend, Governor Dapo Abiodun received Africa’s wealthiest man and president of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on his investments-laden return to the Gateway State. Dangote, fired up by the governor’s investor-friendly disposition and policies focused on business, could not help luxuriating in his return to the state after crass politicking forced him out, and Ogun State lost the 650-000-barrels-per-day $20bn refinery currently nestled in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. Hear the business mogul, speaking at the Oke Mosan Government House: “Our factory at Itori was pulled down twice. When we started the second time, they not only demolished the factory but also the fence, so we left. But right now, because of His Excellency, our governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, we are back. When you visit the factory, you will be surprised at what we have done. “I would especially like to commend, in a special way, my good friend and brother, His Excellency, the Governor of Ogun State, for his vision and deliberate policies that focus on attracting enterprises through immense support for the private sector, which is now attracting investors.” Dangote was not being flippant. When he conceived the world’s biggest refinery now located in Lagos State, his mind was on the Olokola Free Trade Zone, the natural location of such a facility. When the news broke, the excitement among the Ogun citizenry was palpable. Apart from generating thousands of jobs, the refinery would attract big business, massive housing development and other perks to the zone and further solidify Ogun State’s status as Nigeria’s industrial capital. Alas, allegedly for reasons of pecuniary gain, the government led by the same individual whose failure recently led to international embarrassment for Nigeria through the seizure of presidential jets, aborted that epic move that would have made Ogun the envy of other states. It would have been bad enough if that was all it did, but as Dangote himself said, “Our factory at Itori was pulled down twice.” The man took to his heels with his rich portfolio of intended investments! Who would not? In a country where the likes of former Governor Segun Oni literally forced legal luminary, Afe Babalola, to locate his university, now frequently rated as Nigeria’s best, in Ekiti instead of the original Ibadan proposed site, the government of Ogun State chose to abort a multibillion-dollar investment! All of that, thankfully, is history, as insane belligerence, perfidy and arrogance no longer have any place in Oke Mosan, completely gone with the stench of the investment-killing government. Ogun State, Nigeria’s top investment destination after Lagos, is on the brink of an industrial revolution as Africa’s foremost industrialist revives investments in Olokola and targets the expansion of cement production in Itori and Ibeshe. The good news for Olokola? It will now host Nigeria’s largest deep seaport, a project expected to position Ogun as the leading gateway for trade and commerce in West Africa. In addition, the Dangote Group is expanding its cement production to 18 million metric tonnes annually across its plants in Itori and Ibeshe. According to the billionaire business mogul, this has been made possible through Governor Abiodun’s investor-friendly policies, which have provided a stable and supportive environment for businesses to thrive. Hear him: “We had earlier abandoned our vision of investing in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, but because of your policies and investor-friendly environment, I want to say we are back and will work with the state government to return to Olokola, and plans are underway to construct the largest port in the country.” Speaking on the occasion, Governor Abiodun said: “The day the Dangote Refinery groundbreaking was performed in Lagos was a day of heartbreak for the sons and daughters of Ogun State as they watched helplessly on television. But today, history is being rewritten as Dangote returns to Olokola and Itori with groundbreaking investments.” Here is the deal: with the Itori plant producing six million metric tonnes annually and the Ibeshe plant producing 12 million metric tons, Ogun will become the largest cement producer in sub-Saharan Africa. That is not all: the planned seaport at Olokola will enhance the state’s logistics and export potential, cementing its status as the industrial and commercial capital of Nigeria. Enter the 100-kilometer Sagamu-Papalanto-Iro-Ilaro-Obelle Road in Ewekoro Local Government. Originally designed to be an asphalt-paved road, the road facilitated through a tax credit scheme was turned into a concrete road by Dangote. Inspecting the level of work done on the road alongside the president of the Dangote Group, Governor Abiodun appealed to the businessman and the contractor handling the construction of the road to expedite action on it and ensure that it is 70 per cent completed by the end of this year. The idea is that by the first quarter of 2026, it will be fully completed, opening up the corridor for big business. The road which connects Ogun West Senatorial District to the East Senatorial District of the state as well as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will further bring great benefits to  Ota and Agbara Industrial Estates. When completed, Governor Abiodun said the road would compete with the Sagamu-Abeokuta Expressway in terms of industrial and economic growth. Besides, he added that the availability of gas in the Sagamu-Papalanto-Iro-Ilaro-Obelle axis would also play a major role in making the corridor an option for many investors around the world. His words: “We are here again on the Sagamu- Papalanto-Ilaro-Obelle Road. This road is a 100-kilometer road and we are hoping that by the end of this year, it should be near completion. You can see that this corridor is not developed now, but by the time the road is completed, it will compete with the Sagamu- Abeokuta Expressway because there is gas here with a shorter road for industries to site and distribute to the hinterland.” And Dangote went into the heart of the matter: “I don’t think you need to convince people to come and invest here in Ogun State. You know, the governor has done a great job. This road will open up the economy of the state.”  It cannot but be cheering news that Dangote is investing a whopping $700m in Ogun State in different areas of business, including building the largest seaport in Africa at Olokola. Speaking during an inspection tour of the Itori cement plant, the business mogul enthused: “We earlier on abandoned our vision of investing in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, but because of your policies and investor-friendly environment, I want to say we are back and are going to work with the state government and return to Olokola and plans are underway to construct the largest port in the country.” That, definitely, is great news, but there is apparently much more to come.